Stephen Bramall

It’s a curiosity, surely, that a Conservative government published a National Bus Strategy on 15 March which effectively brought the curtain down on bus deregulation outside London, a regime that has been in place since 1986.  Then, on 20 May, it published a Rail White Paper (The Williams – Shapps Plan for Rail) which renationalises […]

It’s a reasonable assumption, if not a certainty, that Boris Johnson will not look back on 2020 with much fondness.  And 2021 hasn’t got off to a great start for him, with the new virus strain ripping through the population and a national lockdown likely to be in place until Easter.  Who would have believed […]

In western culture Friday the 13th is seen by many as a deeply unlucky day.  But for Boris Johnson Friday 13th November 2020 may turn out to be a very lucky day indeed.  It might even be the day that he saved his premiership.  The sudden dramatic, and very public, departure of Lee Cain, his […]

One of the issues that must surely exercise minds in Whitehall over the coming weeks and months is whether there is any justification in pushing the devolution agenda in England even further or whether, on the contrary, the COVID-19 pandemic has so changed the political and policy landscape that we might even see the devolution […]

The transport industry is well and truly on its knees.  Bus and rail patronage is down by anything between 90 and 95%, while airlines have grounded entire fleets.  There is almost no part of the transport industry that has been untouched by coronavirus – from public transport and coach operators, to airlines and airports, to […]

Could next week, 12th June to be precise, signal the beginning of the end for Theresa May’s leadership of the Conservative Party?  Will she succeed in reversing the amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill made by the House of Lords; will she be forced to concede some of the amendments in order to overturn others, […]